Railway car



Jan. 24, 1939.

RAILWAY-GAR Filed Jan. 1e

, 195e 4 sheets-sheet 1 .In u

c, HmKlNs RAILWAY GAR Jan. 24, 1939.-`

Filed Jan. 16, 1956 Jan. 24, `1939.

C. HANKINS RAILWAY CAR 4 sheets-sheet 4 Filed Jan. 16, 1936 Patented Jan. 24, 1939 UNITED [STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 2,145,174 f RAnwAr CAR y .,CyrnsHankins,.Washington, D. C. applioat'ion Januaryis, 1936, serial No. 59,458 140121.11115, (011105-282) .lilly"invention relates to railway freight cars ,of

thetype employed for tran divided material and more sporting Vin bull; finely particularly it relates to the discharge door mechanisms of such cars.

' Cars of this type are cust omarily providedwith sliding doors for closing the openings through which .the inely `divided material is adapted to discharge by gravity and the principal object of this invention is to provide such doors with means whereby they may be easily operated.- f

Anothgr feature ofthe 'A charge f opening so asrto cause it to, occupyk an elevated position when closed.-u

invention consists in providing means for supporting the sliding door in an elevated position when the latter is closed, said means being initially movable independently of the doorto enablethe wardly and being, thereafte doortoward open position.. 1 1

. A vfurther feature of .the

latter toimove down: r movable to slide the invention consists v in associatingwith the dischargeopening of the car two-slidable plate-like members, one; of which-constitutes adoor for closing other of Vwhich constitutes the opening Yand the means `for raising the door upwardly toward the planeof the lading discharge opening to causeitkto occupy an elevated position when closed. i Y.

A still further feature of the invention consists l. Witha portion aiording aV lever Awhereby said means seat for a removable maybe easily actuated to permit the door tomove downwardly away from the plane of the lading discharge opening. Other features of the inve ntion,residing in advantageous forms, combinations and relations of parts, will hereinafter appear -and .be pointed out in the claims. Inffthe drawings:

' Figure 1 is a horizontal 'sectional new through the Alower portion of a'hopper of a railway car,

the doorlmechanism being shown in plan.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 2'-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectionalgview similar to Figure 2, the parts of themechanism being shown in thepo'sitions they occupy afterlthe doorfhas moved downwardly away fromy the plane of fthe llading discharge openingand is'rea'dy to'be moved toward operi position. t .Figure .f1 is Home? View illustrating the relativo position of the parts i after the'door has been moved to o-pen position.

"Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 5- 5of Figure 2. Y v.Figure 6 isa vertical sectional viewtaken on lin'e Gf of Figure 2.

l.Figure 7 is a front end View of the top plate-like member of the door mechanism. `'Figure 8 is a fragmentary plan view of the top plate-like member.

.. ,F.'i,ure14` is a plan View of a modiedvform of tl'ie bottom plate-like member of the door mecha-r nism. l Y

Figure 15 is a side view of the plate-like memberillustrated in Figure 14.

Vliteferring more particularly to the drawings,- I

indicates one ofthe hoppers of a railwaycar which may be conveniently formed by a .plurality of sheets Zjand to the lower end of which is secureda doorframe 3 provided with anl opening l0. Figure 9 isa front end View of the bottom through which lading within the car is adapted to discharge by gravity. The frame 3, which 1s of rectangular shape to conform with the discharge end of the hopper, is preferablyformed in twocast metal sections, an upper section 4 and a lower section 5.

'Ihe upper section is formed with a plurality of walls 6 for attachment to adjacent portions of the hopper sheets. At their lower ends, ther side and Ainner end walls of the frame terminate in laterally projecting flanges 'l to which the lower section of the frame is securedas by rivets 8. The iianges 1 along the sides of .the frame vcontinue outwardly, as indicated at 9, beyo-nd the front wall of the frame and the latter is integrally provided at its lower end with a forwardly projecting ange l Ufwhich is integrally joined with the portions 9 of the side flanges.

, The .lower section 5 of the frame has substantiallyvertical side walls Il and a substantially vertical finnerend wall I2. The side and end walls are formed at intervals with enlarged portions lf3 which are yapertured for receiving the connecting rivets 8 and each is also formed along its upper Vedge with aY laterally extending rib I4 or the like which abuts against the under side of adjacent portions of the flanges 1 of the upper section of the frame. Projecting inwardly from the side and inner end walls of the lower section 0f the frame are flanges I5 which, together with adjacent portions of the iianges 1 of the upper section of the frame, form channels or grooves for receiving the door mechanism to be hereinafter described. Spaced below the flanges I5 at the inner end of the frame and along one side thereof are auxiliary flanges I6 defining a second groove o-r channel for receiving a detachable boot or the like indicated in dot and dash lines at I1 in Figure 5.

The side walls II of the lower section of the frame which are coextensive with the flanges 1 and the continuations 9 thereof of the upper section of the frame are connected inwardly of their outer ends by a substantially horizontal plate portion I8 which is preferably disposed in the plane of the inwardly extending flanges I5 and is formed at its forward end with a depending rigidifying portion I9.

The door mechanism which isA slidably supported upon the flangesl I 5 of the frame includes an upper plate-like memberV 20 and a lower plate-like member 2l. The upper plate-like member constitutes the door for closing the lading discharge opening of the frame and the lower plate-like member constitutes means for raising the door upwardly to cause it to occupy an elevated position when closed.

The upper plate-like member or door, as it will be hereinafter referred to, has a plurality of depending portions 22 in the form of strips or bars which, while they may be formed integral with the door, are preferably formed as separate elements, being riveted to the under side thereof. Each of the bars or strips 22 extends transversely of the door for practically its entire width and each is formed, preferably adjacent its ends, with projections 23, the under sides of which are beveled or inclined, as indicated at 24.

Secured to the upper side of the lower platelike member 2l are strips or bars 25 which are preferably identical, in all respects, with the strips or bars 22, The strips 25, however, are secured to the lower plate-like member so that the projections 26 thereof extend rearwardly, while the strips 22 of the door are secured to the latter so that their projections extend forwardly.

The strips 22 and 25 are secured to their respective plate-like members in such positions that, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, they will be disposed in overlapping engagement when the plate members have been caused to assume their innermost positions. If, when in these positions, the lower plate-like member is moved outwardly relatively to the door, the strips 22 and 25 will be moved from engagement with each other until finally the door moves downwardly away from the plane of the lading discharge opening and its strips engage the lower plate-like member and the strips of the latter engage the door, as shown in Figure 3. With the parts in this position, it will be perceived that, should the lower plate-like member be moved inwardly relatively to the door, the latter will be raised upwardly into its elevated position by coaction of the inclined surfaces of the projections 23 and 26 of the strips.

Adjacent its inner end, the door is provided with a rigid shoulder or the like 21 which, after the lower plate member 2I has been initially moved to enable the door to move downwardly away from the plane of the lading discharge opening, is adapted to be engaged by a rigid shoulder 28 on the lower plate member so that continued movement of the latter will induce movement of the door toward open position. The shoulder 21 on the door may be conveniently formed by a strip of metal 29 secured to the under side of the door and the shoulder 28 may be formed by the forward face of that one of the strips 25 which is secured adjacent the inner end of the lower plate member. Strip 29 is preferably of greater thickness than strips 22 and 25 so that, irrespective of whether the door moves downwardly away from the plane of the lading discharge opening after the lower plate member has moved into the position indicated in Figure 3, shoulders 21 and 28 will engage each other. The lower plate member is, however, formed with an elongated slot 30 into which the strip 29 is adapted to extend when the door moves downwardly. Due to shoulders 21 and 28 being brought into engagement after the lower platelike member has been initially moved to permit the door to move downwardly, it will be appreciated that continued movement of the lower plate member will result in causing the door to move toward open position.

To facilitate opening of the door mechanism, the forward ends of the door and the lower plate member are, when the door is in its closed elevated position, disposed outwardly of the hopper within a lateral extension of the door frame. This extension of the frame is provided with substantially vertical side walls 3I extending upwardly from the inner ends of the continuations 9 of the flanges 1 of the upper section and with a horizontal wall 32 formed integrally with and projecting outwardly from the upper portion of the front Wall of the upper section of the frame. Pivotally mounted upon the frame is a hood 33 which is adapted to span the space dened by the vertical side walls 3| and the front edge of the horizontal wall 32 and thus house the projecting portion of the door and lower plate member. The hood is formed with a front wall 34 which is normally adapted to extend downwardly into the path of opening movement of the door and lower plate member, whereby it is necessary to move the hood into an elevated position before the door mechanism may be actuated. To secure the hood in its normal housing position, it is provided with lugs 35 which are cooperable with lugs 36 formed on the frame for receiving conventional car seals, not shown.

Pivotally mounted on the frame extension is a rotatable member 31 for locking the door and the lower plate member in their innerpost positions. This rotatable member may be conveniently in the form of a cam, as clearly shown in Figure 6, and, to prevent withdrawal of the door, it is adapted to be disposed within an opening 38 formed in the latter, and, to prevent withdrawal of the lower plate member, it is adapted to be disposed in overlapping relation to the front face of the strip 25 which is secured to the lower plate adjacent the forward end thereof. The rotatable locking member is Aalso adapted to cooperate with the hood 33, as shown in Figure 3, to support it in a position enabling operation of the door mechanism.

At their forward ends, the door and lower plate member are provided with means whereby they may be easily operated by suitable means,

such, for example, as a pry bar or lever 39 shown in dot and dash linesin Figures 2 andf 3. The means on the door for cooperating with the pry bar maybe advantageously formed as a casting 4D andthe means on the lower platemember for cooperating with the bar is also preferably formed as a casting 4I.

4The casting 4U is provided with a plate portion 42 overlappingly secured, as byv rivets, to the upper surface of the door on opposite sides of a notch or recess formed in the front edge of the door.4 Depending from the plate portionc42 is a rib 43 which extends in and conforms to the notch formed in the door. This rib preferably continues, as indicated at 44, along the 'front edge of the casting in overlapping relation with the forward edge of the door. YThe portion of the casting disposed above the notched portion of the door is offset upwardly, as indicated at 45, and it is formed with" a elongated slot 45 bounded by a reinforcing bead 41.

The casting 4I is likewise provided with a plate portion 48 which is secured in overlapping relation to the upper face of the lower plate member'on opposite sides of a notch or recess formed in the front edge thereof. It is also provided with a depending portion having vertical side walls 49 and anlend wall 50 which respectively conform to the contour ofthe notch or recess Yin the lower plate member. At their forward ends, the sidewalls 49vof the depending portion are connected by a substantially horizontal wall 5| which, in addition to being spaced downwardly from the plate portionv 48 of the casting, is spaced outwardly fromthe end wall 5S offthe depending portion so as to define an elongated opening 52 of substantially thesame size as the opening 46 in casting 40.

"The openings 46 and 52 areso disposed that, when .the door and lower plate memberare in their -innermost positions, they will register with one "anotherto receive the removablepry bar 39. Whilethe openings may be only sufficiently large to receive the pry bar, they are preferably made of the approximate shape and size illustrated'- in the drawings, so that, in the'event apry bar is not available, an operator may easily grasp'the castings. Furthermore, while the openings are in registration, when the door mechanism is in closed position, their arrangement is preferably suchthat the pry bar, when first inserted therein, will be disposed in substantially va vertical position, as shown in Figure 2.

In the operation of the device, vthe parts being in the-position illustrated in Figure 2, the hood 33 is manually raised and the'locking member 31 then rotated so as to occupy a position for maintaining the hood in elevated position, as shown in Figure 3. The removablepry bar or lever 39 is then inserted in the openingsV 46 and 52 of the castings 40 and 4I, respectively, the bar being so `disposed that its major portion extends below the lower plate member. Anoutward pull on the lower end of the pry bar' will cause the latter to fulcium or pivot about the inner edge of the opening 46 in the casting 40on the door and thus induce' the lower plate member to move outwardly relatively to the door.` This relative movement of the lower plate and doorwill' continue until the shoulder 28 engages `the shoulder 21, at which time the lower plate member will have assumed a position` enablingthe door to move downwardly away from the planeof the lading Adischarge opening and thus break theadhesion between vthe door and lading.. When the shoulders 21,. and 28 engage each other, as shown in Figure 3, continued outward pull upon the pry bar or lever will result in outward movement of both the lower plate member and the dooruntil the strip 53 secured to the underside of the door adjacent the inner edge thereof Yengages the inner edge ofthe horizontal plate portion-i8'. When this occurs, the door will bein thedotted line positionillustrated in Figure 4. While the door may be permitted to remain in this position while therlading discharges from Vthe car, it is preferredv that it be pulled out by hand further until it occupies the full line position shown in Figure 4. During this last increment of vmovement of, the door independently of the lower plate member, the door is raised upwardly by coaction of the inclined surfaces of strips 22 and 25. vIn this manner, the space between the flange or plate l0 of the upper section of the door frame and the plate portion I8 of the lower section is closed by the door mechanism, when thelatter is in open position, and lading, such as cement and the like, is effectively prevented from being puffed or blown out through this space.

lIt will be `observed that, when the pry bar is first operated to effect relative movement of the door and lower plate member, it functions as a lever butthat, fwhen it is operated after relative movement between the door and lower plate has been arrested by shoulders 21 and 28, it merely functions as a handle or door extension."

In the closing operation of the door "mechanism, force may be applied to both the door and the lower plate member to cause them to move simultaneously into closed position or force may be applied to either one of them, in-which event theV other will also be, caused to move toward closed position. If a closing force is applied to the door alone, it will move inwardly relatively to the lower plate member until shoulders 21 and 28 engage, at which time continued inward movementkof the door will result in corresponding movement o-f the lower plate member. The door and lower plate member will then eventually assume the positions shown in Figure 3 and it only remains for the lower plate member to be 'moved inwardly relatively to the door to cause the latter'to assume its elevated position. In the event a closing force is applied to the lower plate member alone, it will move inwardly relatively to the door until the forward edge of strip 29 is engaged by the inner face of an adjacent strip 25, at whichtime rcontinued inward movement ,of the lower plate member will induce corresponding movement of the door. After the lower plate member has been moved inwardly as far as possible, it is'then only necessary'to push the door inwardly a slight distance.

After the door and lower plate'member have assumed their innermost positions, the locking member'31 is freed from engagement with the j hood 33 and rotated into locking association with the door and -plate member. The hood is then permitted to move downwardly and the car seals applied.

While the strips v22 and 25, which are respectively secured to the door and bottom plate member adjacent their forward ends, will suffice to elevate the front portion of the door, this result may beadditionally assured by providing the casting 4l with a pair of upwardly extending ribs 54, the inner portions of which are inclined, as at 55, for cooperation with the forward end of; the casting 4 0 vwhichdmay also be inclined as indicated at 56. To prevent lading which might possibly seep into the space between the door and lower plate member from interfering with the successful operation of the door mechanism, the plate member is preferably provided with a plurality of elongated openings 2|a through which lading collecting on the plate may escape.

Instead of providing the door and lower plate member with the strips 22 and 25 for raising the door upwardly and supporting it in kan elevated position, they may be integrally formed with embossments or offsets, as illustrated in Figures 12 to 15, inclusive. In Figures 12 and 13, a door 51 Y is shown provided with a plurality of embossments 58 and, in Figures 14 and 15, a lower plate member 59 is shown provided with a plurality of embossments 60 preferably identical with the embossments 51. The embossments are each provided with horizontal outer surfaces 6I and with inclined sides 62 and those in the door are so arranged with respect to thoseV in the lower plate member that, when these parts are in their innermost positions, the horizontal surfaces of the embossments will be disposed in overlapping engagement whereby the door will be supported in an elevated position. It will be apparent that, when the lower plate member is moved outwardly relatively to the door, the embossments will be moved from engagement with ach other and thus enable the door to move downwardly and that, when the parts are in this position,v if the lower plate member is moved inwardly relatively to the door, the latter will be raised upwardly by coaction of the adjacent inclined walls of neighboring embossments.

Like door 20, door 51 is provided with a depending strip B3 affording a shoulder cooperating with a portion of the lower plate member whereby, after the latter has been initially moved independently of the door, continued movement thereof will result in moving the door toward open position. Moreover, door 51 is provided with an opening 64 and plate member 59 is provided with a strip B for cooperating with the rotatable locking member in the same manner as the respectively corresponding parts of the door 20 and the lower plate member 2|. The forward edges of door 51 and plate member 59 are also preferably notched or recessed so as to respectively receive parts similar to castings 40 and 4l.

From the foregoing, it will be perceived that simple, reliable and rugged means has been devised for supporting the door in an elevated position, so as to enable it to move downwardly away from the plane of the lading discharge opening before assuming open position and thus break the adhesion between the door and the lading supported thereby.

What I claim is:

1. A railway car having a oor provided with a door frame defining a lading discharge opening, a sliding door mounted on the frame for closing said opening, and means interposed between the door and frame for supporting the door in an elevated position when the latter is closed, said means being initially movable independently of the door to enable the latter to move downwardly away from the plane of the lading discharge opening and said door and means respectively having portions rigid therewith adapted to engage each other upon completion of said initial movement of said meansV whereby continued movement of the latter causes th-e door to move toward open position.

2. A railway car having a -iioor provided with a door frame defining a lading discharge opening, a sliding door mounted on the frame for closing said opening, and movable means interposed between the door and frame for raising the door upwardly to cause it to occupy an elevated position when the latter is closed, said door and means respectively having rigid shouldered portions disposed in spaced relation when the door is in closed elevated position, said means being initially movable independently of the door to enable the latter to move downwardly and to bring said shouldered portions into engagement and being thereafter movable to slide the door toward open position.

3. A railway car having a fioor provided with a door frame defining a lading discharge opening, a door slidably mounted on the frame for closing said opening, and wedge means movably interposed between the frame and door, said means being slidable with respect to the door and having inclined portions engageable with the door for raising the latter upwardly toward the plane of the lading discharge opening to cause it to occupy an elevated position when closed.

4. A railway car having a floor provided with a door frame defining a lading discharge opening, a sliding door mounted on the frame for closing said opening, and means slidably mounted upon the frame rigidly provided with an upwardly facing inclined portion cooperable with the door for raising the latter upwardly toward the plane of the lading discharge opening to cause the door to occupy an elevated position when closed.

5. A railway car having a floor provided with a door frame defining a lading discharge opening, a sliding door mounted on the frame for closing said opening, and means slidably mounted upon the frame for supporting the door in an elevated position when the latter is closed, said door and means having inclined faces cooperable with each other for raising the door into said elevated position.

6. A railway car having a floor provided with a door frame defining a lading discharge opening, a sliding door mounted on the frame for closing said opening, said door being provided with depending portions, and means movably interposed between the door and frame adapted to slidably engage said depending portions for raising the door upwardly toward the plane of the lading discharge opening to cause it to occupy an elevated position when closed.

7. A railway car having a floor provided with a door frame defining a lading discharge opening, a sliding door mounted on the frame for closing said opening, said door having depending portions extending at an angle to the direction of sliding movement thereof, and slidable means interposed between the door and frame having wedging engagement with said depending portions for raising the door upwardly toward the plane of the lading discharge opening to cause the door to occupy an elevated position when closed.

8. A railway car having a iioor provided with a door frame defining a lading discharge opening, means slidably mounted upon the frame constituting a door for closing said opening, said means havingV one or more transversely extending depending portions, and means slidably interposed between said means and frame having one or more upwardly extending portions for respectively cooperating with said depending portions to support the door in an elevated position when closed, the portions of atleast one of said means having inclined faces cooperable with the portions of the other of said means for raising the door into said elevated position.

9. A railway car having a floor provided with a door frame dening a lading discharge opening, and two plate-like members slidably mounted on the frame, one of said members constituting a door for closing said opening and being provided lwith depending portions, the other of said members having means cooperable with said depending portions for raising the door upwardly toward the plane of the lading discharge opening to cause it to occupy an elevated position when closed.

l0. A railway car having a iloor provided with a door frame dening a lading discharge opening, and upper and lower plate-like members slidably mounted on the frame, said upper member constituting a door for closing said opening and being provided with depending portions and said lower member having a'plurality of means respectively cooperable with said depending portions for moving the door upwardly to cause it to occupy an elevated position when closed and for actuating the door to move it toward open position.

11. A railway car having a floor provided with a door frame defining a lading discharge opening, and upper and lower plate-like members slidably mounted on the frame, said upper member constituting a door for closing said opening and said lower memberconstituting means for supl away from the plane of the lading discharge opening and being provided with a portion engageable with the door after the latter has moved downwardly for causing the door to move with said means to open position, said door and means having spaced portions cooperable with a removable lever adapted to move said means relatively to the door and to thereafter move said means and door together.

13. A railway car having a oor provided with a door frame dening a lading discharge opening, a sliding door mounted on the frame for closing said opening, and means carried by the frame for moving the door upwardly to cause it to occupy an elevated position when closed, said means being slidable with respect to the door a limited extent to enable it to move downwardly away from Y the planer of the lading discharge opening, said door andmeans respectively having apertures for receiving a removable bar adapted to serve as a lever for moving said means with respect to the f door and also adapted to serve as a'handle for moving said means and door together.

14. A railway car having a oor provided with a door frame defining a lading discharge opening, a sliding door mounted on the frame for closing said opening, and means interposed between the door and frame for moving the door upwardly to cause it to occupy an elevated position when closed, said means being initially movable independently of the door to enable the latter to move downwardly away from the plane of the lading discharge opening and beingl provided with a portion engageable with the door upon completion of said initial movement whereby continued movement thereof causes the door to move toward open position, said door and means respectively having portions cooperable with a removable bar adapted to rst move said means independently of the door and to thereafter move said door and means together.

CYRUS HANKINS. 

